Vitals

High-end NFL Player Comp(s): A faster version of Larry Fitzgerald with less run-after-catch ability

Low-end NFL Player Comp(s): George Pickens

Best Scheme Fit: Universal.

Best Team Fit(s): Chargers, Cardinals, Patriots, Giants

Non-bolded times - Good examples of attribute
Bolded times - Average/poor examples of attribute

* - How well does his skill set carry over to the fantasy game? For receivers, a player needs to be a realistic threat for 70 catches and 1,000 receiving yards at some point early in their career to be a candidate for a perfect grade. Positional scarcity at the pro level is also a part of the equation.

Positives

• Model of efficiency with his release - already a pro in the number of ways he can defeat press - and able to sink his hips well (and create separation) for a taller receiver.
  
  
• More powerful than he looks - The Athletic's Bruce Feldman reported last summer that he bench presses 380 pounds and squats 500 - which allows him to stay the course on his route and play through contact.
  
  
• Extraordinary ability to track the ball, win at the catch point and flash "late hands" when necessary - should be a top 10 deep threat in the league right away.
  
  
• Flypaper hands with the ability to catch passes thrown outside of his frame seamlessly.
  
  
• Does not shy away from working over the middle of the field.
  
  
• Son of a Pro Football Hall of Famer, whose work ethic and dedication to football have been lauded by multiple scouts and evaluators, will not turn 22 until the start of training camp.
  

Negatives

• For a player with his size and explosiveness, he does not do much after the catch (6.4 yards after the catch per reception in 2023 was easily a career high, but good for only 100th in FBS among receivers with at least 30 targets).
  
  
• The urgency to his routes is not always there, nor is the burst out of the cuts at the top of his route.
  
  
• Willingness to block is inconsistent.
  
  
• Allows his defender to push him against the sideline too often.
  
  
• Six drops in 2023 was twice as high as the number he had in 2022.
  
  
• Dealt with a concussion and two ankle injuries in his two full seasons (did not miss games, but the concussion knocked him out of the 2022 FBS semifinal loss to Georgia).
  

Bottom Line

If Harrison fails to become a successful pro for any other reason outside of being cursed by injuries, evaluators will need to throw most of what they thought they knew out the window. His ability to track the ball over his shoulder is as good as the best pro receivers. If there is a chance of him catching the ball along the sideline or in contested-catch situations, the odds are probably 80-20 that he will find a way to make the play. Just as impressively, he has already mastered the art of "late hands" - not giving his man any hint the ball is coming until it is too late. Harrison is a strong hands-catcher as well and does not waste steps, usually needing no more than three steps to create quick separation off the line of scrimmage. While he does not possess elite speed, he creates doubt in his defender by changing up his tempo and shows high-level awareness and urgency to uncover when he knows his quarterback is in trouble. The 2023 Biletnikoff Award winner is also surprisingly strong enough to deal with grabby cornerbacks and unafraid to work the middle of the field. While he is most dangerous in the intermediate and deep parts of the field, he is also a very capable option on screens and near the line of scrimmage.

Harrison may not have many major shortcomings, but there are certainly areas where he falls a bit short. For example, he runs great routes for a taller receiver, but there was not always a great deal of urgency to them. His most noticeable shortcoming is how little he does after the catch. He was at his best in this area when he ran crossers, but he was merely average on the rare occasion he only had one man to beat. Another slightly disappointing part of his game was how often his defender was able to push him too close to the sideline. While he generally overcame it in college with high-end field presence and his ability to adjust to the ball in the air, he cannot allow himself to tightrope the sidelines very often in the pros. Although Harrison also supposedly has sub-4.4 speed (based on reports from last spring and summer), he does not always play to that speed. Drops became a bit of an issue in 2023 as well, although teams will live with an 8.2 percent drop rate from their top receiver if he draws extra coverage his way - something he did more with more regularity than any college wideout in recent memory - and bails his quarterback out of high-pressure situations time after time.

The question with Harrison is not if he will fare well at the pro level, but rather how ridiculously high his ceiling is. His position coach at Ohio State (Brian Hartline) has repeatedly stated that Harrison is the best receiver that has come through the program in his time there - a list that includes Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave and Terry McLaurin among others. Harrison should have little problem emerging as his new team's primary receiving option early in camp and hold that spot for a decade. His size should serve him well in the red zone as a pro as it did in college, and there is an argument to be made that he will be a better pro because defenders will not be allowed to put their hands on him nearly as often. Fitzgerald is a high bar to set for any receiver, but Harrison is already so advanced for a 21-year-old that he is capable of reaching it.


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